Happy Halloween

Halloween at Nonesuch. October 1968. Dallas, Texas © Stanley Marcus

I'm in love with this Halloween outtake from Reflection of a Man.
That's my brother as the pirate & my sister as the witch.
Reminds me, have you seen Amy Stein's print for sale on 20x200? !!
Spooky low prices for creepy goodness.
It's from her series of portraits of Halloween in Harlem.

Mayor Tom Leppert + Rangers

Mayor Tom Leppert. October 2010. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

Mayor Tom Leppert take 2. October 2010. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

 Mayor Tom Leppert and I had a good time yesterday taking photographs outside of Dallas City Hall. You wouldn't believe the hustle it took to find the right size hat in town. Sold out City! The photos were for a story that ran into today's New York Times. See here and Go Rangers!

Boo!

I miss getting these in the mail. For nearly 10 years, I received decorated cards from photographer, friend  and pen pal, Andy Hanson. His Halloween envelopes are sill my favorite. I miss you, Andy!

Home

 living room. October 2010. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

bedroom. October 2010. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

Just for the heck of it, here are some photos of my home & a list of my favorite songs 

( in my iTunes library) that have the word Home in it. 

Home Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Don't Come Home A Drinkin' Loretta Lynn

Won't Be Home Old 97's

Eat at Home Paul McCartney

Home Motel Willie Nelson

Mario visits Maine

Mario @BarryWhistler Gallery. October 23 2010. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

Look who stopped by the gallery today! Mario's favorite piece in the show is the library.
He told me it seemed like a nice place to spend some time. I told him it was.
My show is up through November 27th.
I'll be giving a gallery talk with friend & collector Dan Routman Saturday, November 6.
I hope you can come see the show!

Bound

Bound. October 2010. © AllisonV. Smith

Well that's cool.While carefully reading my photography stock estatement, I noticed I had been paid for the use of one of my images as a book cover. I quickly drove to the book store and there it was, My first book jacket! Thanks, Getty! I hope there are more in my future.

1989 called,

Mom&Dad. October 1989. Maine © Allison V. Smith

Mom&Dad. October 1989. Maine © Allison V. Smith

1989 called, they want their slides back. 

Exactly. 

Last month I sent a handful of old slides to India to get scanned. More specifically , Scan Cafe. 

My buddy Van Hayes told me about this so called Scan Cafe. What a deal. I'm preparing my next package of slides to send away! Above are two photos I shot of my parents while taking a photo workshop with Michael O'Brien in 1989. The assignment: photograph something that is close to you. The critique: pay more attention to light which turned out to be some of the best advice ever.

 I plan to load more. I can't help myself.

State Fair Portraits

Pig Judging. State Fair of Texas. October 2010. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

Maine-Anjou champ.October 2010. Dallas, Texas. State Fair of Texas © Allison V. Smith

Sad to say good bye to the 2010 State Fair of Texas. I lost count of how many times I wandered around with my camera. I added a few photos to my State Fair portrait gallery on photoshelter. See you in 345 days, Big Tex!

Cover Shot!

D CEO cover. Nov 2010. ©Allison V. Smith

Cover Shot! Check out my photo of former Mayor Laura Miller on the cover of the November issue of D CEO. I added this & some others to the In Print section of my website.

Thanks!

Milk Jar. August 2010. Vinalhaven, Maine © Allison V. Smith

Thanks to all who came out Saturday night to the Barry Whistler Gallery to see my new images of Maine. I am looking forward to a gallery talk with Dan Routman on November 6th at the gallery. I'll be posting more info on my fancy facebook fan page. Stay in touch!

Maine Installations

Maine installation at Barry Whistler Gallery. October 2010. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

Today is the opening of my first  solo show in 2 years. Hope to see you there. Above an installation shot of one of my favorite walls in the show. See here for more Maine installation shots and here for past installations.

State Fair Wedding

 State Fair Wedding. October 2010. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

 State Fair Bride. October 2010. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

State Fair Wedding. October 2010. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

Sara Rice + Jose Luis + Pinky Diablo + Big Tex = an night to remember!

check my photos here & Nathan Hunsinger's video here. Congrats Sara y Luis!

the Old 97s

 old 97s. September 2010. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

 old 97s. September 2010. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

 old 97s live at the barley house. September 2010. Dallas, Texas © Allison V. Smith

Today is the big release of the Old 97s latest album The Grand Theatre, Volume One. Last month I got to hang with the handsome and talented fellows and photograph them for press usage. Here are a few and see here how it was done. The album is a blast and having said that the slowest songs are my favorite. Go buy it. Support the team!

More on Maine

 self portrait on the path. August 2010. Rockport, Maine

self portrait visiting friends. August 2010. Rockport, Maine

I think I have missed a few summers in Maine.
One was the year I was born and then once when I was a teenager
when it seemed like a better idea to stay in the Texas heat with my friends. 

25 of those summers I have been making photographs. 

It all started when I was a yo-pho at the Maine Photographic Workshop and continues.
My show, Maine, opens Saturday night at the Barry Whistler Gallery and has 18 new photographs from the past three years in Maine. All shot while wandering around with with my Hasselblad.
The simple photographs explore familiar places. Familiar places with magical meanings.
Above are a few self portraits made while I was exploring in Maine this past summer.
Bookmark the Barry Whistler Gallery blog to find out more about Maine.

Marfa Experience

Marfa , Texas experience. Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog. 2010

You too can have your own customized Marfa, Texas experience , as seen in the 2010 Neiman Marcus catalog. I was thrilled when they asked about using some of my images in the catalog pitching the one of a kind west Texas experience. See all the "Fantasy Gifts" here. Sign me up for this one.

Maine

Silly Pond. November 2009. Rockport, Maine © Allison V. Smith

I am excited to announce my upcoming solo show at the Barry Whistler Gallery. The show will have 15 new works from Maine including the photo above. Maine opens Saturday, October 16th and will be up through November 27th.

Imagine

Imagine © Aline Smithson

I just bought this dreamy photo by Aline Smithson on collect.give. This is my second collect.give purchase (this was my first) . Sign up for collect.give's mailing list so you don't miss out on these small, limited editions & giving to charitable organizations! 100% of the proceeds of Smithson's photo sales goto St. Mary Kevin Orphanage Motherhood in Uganda.